darn! darn!!!!

hig sketch

alternative version:

late night at the office

the way they animated his domain expansion is so fucking good I'M EATING

Okay I just caught up on Gachiakuta anime and am about to start the manga

they're actually the silliest little geniuses

I feel like they'd kind of cancel their whimsy out together. Like Higuruma would seem hella responsible and stable next to Gojo, but he's really not LMAO. And Gojo would be so fascinated by Higuruma's potential and constantly goad him to learn more and be better, thus bringing out the more responsible teacher side of him. And they'd understand each other on a certain level, like genius-to-genius bc they both think too much all the time.

Or maybe they're just silly and I'm being too analytical who knows

Post-canon their dynamic is interesting. I think that Higuruma would struggle with his guilt and think he's unworthy of love. Shoko would struggle with the fear of losing people so she keeps him at arm's length. They'd probably be smth casual like fwb.

Higuruma being whimsical yet deranged n Shoko being empty and weird ugh they're my dream couple <3 There's barely any content of them tho

Can't wait for his debut on Thursday!

Ooh this is one I haven't heard of before!! Really intriguing dynamic though. I know a lot about Higuruma as a character (it's easier bc he has less scenes I have to reread and they're very in-depth character-wise lol), but not Shoko, so excuse me if I get anything wrong about her!!

They'd met for the first time in the time between the culling game and the final showdown, though in canon it doesn't seem like they interact at all (which still smarts. I'd hoped to see more character interactions and such there... alas). I think Shoko would completely dismiss him at first (as she seems prone to do to any new people, but especially after the loss of Nanami I think), but I feel like Higuruma is exactly the type of guy who'd want to learn how to heal others and actually have the capability for it. He did learn how to use domain amplification and RCT purely through observation (not to mention mid-battle), so if anyone can pick up on Shoko's methods without her having to explain in-depth, it'd be him. This would catch Shoko's attention for sure (plus lighten her workload if he actually manages to pull it off), and it can kickstart a relationship of sorts.

I think it'd be a weird sort of struggle where Shoko is trying her best to keep herself unattached and aloof but still finding herself caving to Higuruma's relentless pursuit of knowledge (definitely a holdover from his lawyer days. Also I think he's the type to be endlessly curious and hungry to learn about the people around him, regardless of how antisocial he seems—although I don't think "antisocial" is a word I'd use for him anyway. More just lonely and too absorbed in work. I think he'd enjoy talking to people and getting to know them, as he's enamored with the "ugliness" and "weakness" of humanity in canon. Also he took the time to talk to Yuji for quite a while when he could've just fought him immediately lol). He'd either needle her to show him how to heal until she relents or it'd be the opposite and she demands him to learn so they have another healer on site (I did get this idea from a fic I read where Shoko had him learn, albeit it was a Higunana work haha).

I feel like their relationship is either the type where they both make each other exponentially worse or help each other heal in their own unique ways. They do have a lot in common (namely their general apathy towards life and the weird quirks they have to cope with it), so I think they'd understand each other on a level many others wouldn't. In both their professions, there's a question of "why do you keep doing this? How haven't you lost hope yet?" And they both understand that they lost hope a long time ago, but they push on regardless because the people need them to.

I think they could definitely care for each other, though. Higuruma seems extremely prone to spiraling whenever a perceived "injustice" happens, but Shoko is incredibly stable (she has to be, in her work) and she'd be able to ground him whenever he goes off the deep end (and I think he definitely will. Based on my own experience, once you snap the first time, it's a whole lot easier to fall back into it and snap again). On the other hand, Shoko is probably so sick and tired of taking care of everything all the time, so I think Higuruma would lighten her load, so to speak. He's shown to be really reliable and pretty gentlemanly when he isn't taking fully-clothed baths, so I think Shoko would really appreciate having someone like him supporting her from the sidelines (or more directly if Higuruma joins her as a healer). Their relationship wouldn't be anything dramatic or tumultuous as they're both mature enough to be above all that. I think it'd be a comfortable one, less "fireworks" and more "coming home after a long, hard day".

There is a huge point of tension here, though: Higuruma's instability is definitely not what Shoko would be looking for. A big part of Higuruma's character is his tendency to self-destruct, especially during the showdown, and the fact that he was willing (and wanting) to die fighting Sukuna definitely wouldn't fly with Shoko. Attaching herself to someone like Higuruma, already so willing to burn himself out for a cause he barely knows anything about, would just be giving herself another person to eventually grieve over. Higuruma is of the "tortured genius" ilk like Gojo and Sukuna (or at least it seemed like Gege wanted him to be LOL), and I feel like Shoko definitely wants no part in all the dramatics that entails. I can see them together maybe a few years after the showdown once Higuruma gets his shit together and things simmer down, but immediately after Shoko's losses and Higuruma's breakdown would only be a recipe for disaster. Then I feel like they'd definitely go down the "make each other worse" route.

fictional lawyer doing fictional lawyer things (looking hot and depressed)

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